Antiskid device



ANTISKID DEVICE Filed March 2, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I Q ,1 H I 3 20 m INVENTOR Amman Filed March 2, 1923 2 Sheets-Shes: 2

INVENTOQ Patented July 15, 1924.

UNITED STATES FRANK W. HANLEY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

ANirIsKIn DEVICE.

Application filed March 2, 1923. Serial No. 622,404.

To all whom z'tmay concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK W. HANLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania,haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Antiskid Devices, of which the following is. a specification. This invention relatesto anti-skid devices, and more articularly to anti-skid devices specially a apted for use in connection with automobiles.

ed of simple construction and operation which may be applied to automobiles, of standard construction and will effectually prevent skidding. A further object is to provide a device which will act to hold. the rear wheels of the automobile tightly in contact with the traction surface so as to effectually grip the same thus preventing slipping or skidding of the rear wheels. Further objects will appear from the detailed description. 1

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side view of the device as applied;

Figure 2 is a front View; V

Figure 3 is a rear view of one, of the supporting arms and associated parts;

Figure at is a section through one of the rollers and associated parts; 7

Figure 5 is a detail, partly in section, of the winding drum and associated parts;

Figure 6 is a top plan view of the hand wheel and associated parts for controlling the winding drum;

Figure 7 is a top plan View of the winding drum and associated oarts.

This invention is intended more particularly as an improvement over the device disclosed in my U. S. Patent 1,439,548, the primary object being to so mount and arrange the device on the automobile that, during travel of the automobile, downward pressure is exerted on the rear wheels so as to hold the same pressed firmly against the traction surface. The device includes supporting arms 1 of suitable construction positioned adjacent to the rear wheels (1 of the automobile A. Each of these arms is pivotally secured at its rearward end, at 2, to a plate 3 which is secured by U-bolts 4, or in any other suitable or preferred manner, to rear springs b of the automobile, the plate being positioned beneath therear axle housing. Arm 1 is provided, at its lower end, I

with a rectangular frame 5 which isadapted for reception of ahollowroller or cylinder 6 the outer surface ofwhich is knurled "ito provide an effective'gripping surface. This. roller is provided, adjacent to each end, with an inner, friction collar 7, thesfe col-lar s bemg adapted for contact with.friction- (cones 8'and 9 fitting intothegciollars'f; -Cones8 and 9 are mounted upon a shaft lQ of squared cross-section which is inserted One of the main objects of the invention is to provide a device of the character statthrough the ends of frame 5. This shaft is provided, adjacent to one end with a diametrically extending slot 11 which [receiyes a key 12 shaped to fit into 3. corresponding groove 13 in the outer 'faceof cone9. 'A'

set screw 14 is threaded into,shaft;1 Q from head thereof, the end of this'screw .fitting into a central recess 12 in the'outer face of key 12. By turning screw lkinto shaft 10 pressure is exerted on key112 so as to force cone 9 into tight contact withjhe adjacent collar 7 forcinglthe roller 6 toward cone 8 so as to cause thecollar Tadjacent to this cone to contact therewith. This pro:

vides simple andefiicient means whereby the frictional engagement between the cones, which are held against rotation on the squared shaft 10, and the collars 7 maybe adjusted to offer the desired resistance-to] rotation of roller 6. To aCCOIIII IlOdQIQZkGY 12 one 'end of frame 5 is provided with recesses 12 which extend from squared opening 5 for accommodating the shaft, lAj tlilr ablenut 14 is threaded on the other end of shaft 10 at the outer face of the'other e nd of frame 5 and serves, in conjunction with head 10 to hold the shaft dinal movement. I

Frame'5 is provided, at eachend, with a forwardly extending lug ,5?*'to1. .which. is pivotally secured a plate 15 fromfwhich 8X- tends a rod 16 secured, at ,its upper end, to a slotted head 17. H Head 17 receives prectangularly disposed fingers 18 provided at the upper ends of adjusting arms 19 secured on a shaft 20 rockably mounted transversely of the automobile'in braclretsfQl secured to the automobile chassis. An operating arm 22 is secured tolshaft 29 and projects forwardly therefronn, This is connected, at its upper end, by a cable :23 to a drum 24 mounted upon a stubgshaft 25-eXtending through a casing QGJiThis stub-shaft proj ectsbeyond the casing toproagainst longituvide a securing element 27 which is secured through one of the sills of the chassis of the automobile. A worm wheel 27 is secured to drum 2/1 at one side thereof and is adapted to mesh with a worm 28 carried by a shaft 29 which is rotatably mounted, at its lower end, in a plate 30 rockably mounted in casing 26 for movement about an axis parallel with the axis of stub-shaft 25.' Plate 30 is provided with an extension forming a securing element 31 which is secured through a bracket 32 secured to the chassis sill. A wedge is s'l id'ablymounted in casing 26 and is noriiially held in its inner 0r operative positlion 'by' means of a tension spring 3% secured'to the wedge and to the casing. This 'welfdge is positioned to hold shaft 29 in position with worm 28 in mesh with worm Wheel 527 when in lowered or operative position, as illustrated. A headed pin 35 is secured in the under face of wedge 33 and operates through a slot 36 in the casing,

this pin serving to prevent complete withdrawal of the wedge from the casing and also preventing downward movement of the wedge to such an extent as to cause binding of the worm.

i "A release rod 37 is secured at its lower 30 end to the upper end of wedge 33. This rod: is secured at its upper end to an outer sleeve 38 which is mounted about an inner sleeve 39 depending from plate l0 supported by a U-bolt 41 the arms of which pass between the spokes of a hand-wh eel e2 securedon the upper end of shaft 29. Sleeve 39 is'provided, at its lower end. with an outer annular flange 42 which serves to prevent downward movement of sleeve 38, this outersleeve being confined between flange 42 and plate This provides simple and efficient means whereby the wedge 38 may be raised, when desired, and free rotation of wheel 42 and shaft 29 is permitted. With the wedge 33 in its lowered or operative position, by rotating shaft 29 drum 2a is rotated so to wind cable 23 onto the arm thus rocking shaft 20, through arm 22, in such direction as to raise the arms 19 and the parts associated therewith. The worm and worm wheel provide efiioient means for lo'ckii shaft 2t) and the parts associated therew ch in adjustment. \Vith the arms I raised; during a travel of the vehicle the forward ends of arms-l havelimited vertical movement iuu parted to them so that the heads 17. on downward movement of arms 1, strike the fingers-18 of arms 19. This produces a series of blows which are struck during travel of the automobile, the force of these blows being transmitted along the line a-l2 .(Figure 1). This line intersects the traction surface slightly in advance of the veitical plane which passes through the axis of the rear wheels of the automobile, indicated by the line c(Z. These downward blows occur simultaneously with the downward movements of the vehicle body and serve to provide additional downward pres sure which is applied to the rear wheels of the automobile slightly in advance of the point of contact thereof with the traction surface, this additional downward pressure on the wheels serving to force the same tightly against the traction surface so as to effectually grip the same thus eliminating possibility of slipping or skidding. Just. exactly how the device operates in This manner is not perfectly clear, thoughit has been proved by repeated tests that, with the parts in the positions illustrated in Fig ure 1 the automobile will not skid even on damp and slippery traction surfaces whereas the same automobile will skid on such surfaces if the device is removed, Just why the device acts to prevent skidding not absolutely clear and while the above statement of the operation of the device is believed to be correct I cannot beabsolutely certain if this is so. I have ascertained, by extensive experiments, that there. is a definite relation between the line alongwhich the downward blows struck by the arms 1 act and the vertical plane which passes through the axis of the rear axles of the automobile, and it appears thatthe best results can be obtained by having the parts related in the manner illustrated and de-- scribed.

In the event that it is necesslry to stop the automobile within a short distance to prevent a col ision, or for other reason, the wedge is withdrawn so as to permit movement of shaft 29 away from worm wheel 27. This disengages worm 28 from the wheel. thus releasing the wheel and the drum which turns freely on stub-.. ft 25 in cable-unwinding direction thus permitting arms 1 to drop so as to bri the rollers 6 into contact with the traction surface, The distance from the upper end of arm 1 to the lowermost point of the roller 6 is greater than the normal distance between the rear axle housing and the traction surface so that, when the arms are dro ped, rollers 6 contact with the traction surface and, due to frictional contact between cones 8 and 9 and collars'T. exert an initial braking effect. after which the arms are swung rearwardly into vertical position so as to lift the rear wheels of the automobile out of contact with the traction sur face, the automobile being" equally brought to a standstill by the action of the rollers 6 and the friction cones-and collars. Bean ward movement of arm 1 beyond vertical position is positively limited by a stop element 1 provided at the upper end of a reinforcing rib 1 formed on the rearward face of arm 1, element 1 being disposed to contact with plate 3 when arm 1 is in vertical position.

If desired, any other suitable or preferred means may be provided for rocking shaft 20 for raising arms 1 and the parts associated therewith, though I prefer to employ the shaft 29 and associated parts for this purpose. As will be understood, and as indicated herein, changes may be made in details of construction and arrangement of parts of the invention without departing from the field and scope of the same, and I intend to include all such variations, as fall within the scope of the appended claims, in this application in which the preferred form only of my invention-is disclosed.

lVhat I claim is:

1. In combination with an automobile, braking members pivotally mounted attheir rearward ends and extending when in normal raised position forwardly of the rear axles, and means for normally holding said members raised, said means permitting limited vertical movement of the members and positively limiting downward movement thereof, the braking members and the means for holding the same raised being so related that the force of a blow struck by the members on their downward movement will be transmitted along a line which will intersect the traction surface slightly in advance of a vertical line passing through the axis of the axles of the automobile 2. In combination with an automobile, supporting arms pivotally connected at their rearward ends to the automobile adjacent to the rear axle housings thereof, weight members carried by said arms at the forward ends thereof, adjusting arms rockably mounted in advance of the weight members, means for operating said arms, rods pivoted at their lower ends to the forward ends of said supporting arms, and slotted heads secured on the upper ends of said rods, said adjusting arms being provided with elements projecting through said slots.

3. In combination with a member to be raised and lowered, a casing, a drum rotatably mounted in the casing, a cable connecting said member and the drum, a worm wheel secured to the drum, a member rockably mounted in the casing for movement about an axis parallel with the axis of the drum and wheel, a shaft rotatably mounted in said member and provided with a worm, and a wedge member perating between one wall of the casing and the shaft and acting to hold the shaft in operative position with the worm in mesh with said worm wheel, and means for withdrawing the wedge member to permit movement of the shaft away from the worm wheel and disengage the wormfrom said wheel.

at. In combination with an automobile, supporting arms pivotally connected at their rearward ends to the automobile adjacent to the rear axle housing thereof, said arms being provided at their fonward ends with supporting frames, shafts secured through said frames, friction cones mounted on said shafts and adjustable longitudinally thereof, said cones being held against rotation, cylinders extending about said shafts, friction collars secured in the cylinders and positioned to contact with the cones, and means for forcing said cones into contact with the collars.

5. In combination with an automobile, supporting arms pivotally connected at their rearward ends to the automobile adjacent to the rear axle housing thereof, said arms being provided at their forward ends with supporting frames, shafts secured through said frames, friction cones mounted on said shafts and adjustable longitudinally thereof, said cones being held against rotation and tapering toward each other, friction collars positioned to contact with the cones, a cylinder fitting about the shafts between the cones, said collars bein secured in the ends of the cylinder, and means for forcing the cones toward each other into tight contact with said collars.

In testimony whereof I affix my signa ture.

FRANK W. HANLEY. 

